Maya Mulhall, a teacher from Blackburn High School in Victoria, has been named the 2024 Reading Australia Fellow.
The Reading Australia Fellowship provides $15,000 to a leading English and/or literacy teacher or teacher librarian to undertake a career-enhancing research project that will benefit the successful Fellow as well as the education sector.
Copyright Agency created Reading Australia in 2013 to provide much-need resources for Australian teachers. There are now almost 300 curriculum-mapped resources on Reading Australia for years F–12.
Ms Mulhall’s project will focus on developing a respectful, culturally appropriate, and responsive approach to First Nations literature and how the education system can accurately, respectfully and thoroughly analyse First Nations literature without imposing set colonial frameworks of comprehension.
Her project will use the anthology, Guwayu – For All Times as inspiration and aspires to create shareable resources and pedagogies so that fellow educators can move forward with confidence and respectfully position First Nations’ perspectives at the centre of their teaching.
“As a woman of Irish and white Australian heritage, I have been investigating how to approach this area of study without imposing my voice and running the risk of imposing white schema. The 2023 Australian Teacher’s survey reflects my concerns, with more than half of respondents aged 35 years and over feeling unprepared to approach First Nations knowledges and cultures,” Ms Mulhall said.
“Through community engagement and observing cultural protocols, I want to develop real world strategies and effective resources to help colleagues embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures within their classroom in an authentic, culturally sensitive and respectful manner.”
Copyright Agency CEO Josephine Johnston congratulated Ms Mulhall.
“The Reading Australia Fellowship is a significant opportunity for Maya and will raise awareness of the importance of studying and teaching First Nations literature in our classrooms,” she said.
“Maya’s approach is thoughtful and consultative, and her project strategy appropriately maps out a pathway to create a much needed and culturally appropriate resource for teachers, ensuring that First Nations literature is accessible for everyone.”
Ms Mulhall will share her research and findings broadly with colleagues next year.
